Exploring New Bonds
by DizzyBunnies
Summary: *Kplus: stressors* "You-you wanna know what happened. Of course you would, that's not a surprise." He said nervously, running a hand through his hair. Toothless chirped loudly behind them as if sensing the unease and walked over to his rider, nudging the boy's arm slightly.


**A/N: this was around when httyd 2 trailers and spoilers were revealed so this was kinda like,,,what would happen if valka pointed out his leg like AFTER they met and stuff but wanted to like srsly talk to him about it, idk, this was written before the movie came out so**

 **Warning: ? idk amputee stuff**

 **Disclaimer: this franchise is SO much better when u like buy the movies and read the books and like not torrent them bc u don't own them and neither do I HOLLA**

 _Exploring New Bonds_

It had been a few hours since Hiccup had met Valka. She still hadn't asked him the question he was fearing she'd ask.

They were still exploring all of the hidden places she claimed he _needed_ to be shown. They were walking by a riverbank, watching as baby dragons ran past them, chasing each other. Their mother let out an anxious roar behind them, causing mother and son to turn around. Hiccup let out a chuckle.

"This is," He sighed in in content, "This is really great." He said, looking at her. He wasn't just talking about the dragons. She smiled warmly. Toothless sneaked from behind her son and jumped on her, licking her. She shrieked in surprise but patted him as he nudged her.

Hiccup caught how her eyes went directly to Toothless' tail, staring at the red, prosthetic fin.

Her eyes widened slightly—of course, she had noticed it, as she had noticed his leg, but she couldn't help but feel her heart sink every time she saw it. She had been trying to avoid asking him what happened, but when she saw his concerned face, and realised he knew what she was thinking, she gently pushed Toothless off of her and stood up, wiping herself off. She took in a deep breath.

"My boy," She said softly, walking up to him. Toothless sat down on his hind legs, tilting his head in curiosity. Why was this human suddenly so serious? She put a hand to her son's shoulder. He looked up at her, knowing what she was going to ask. He swallowed hard. She looked down at his leg, which was now taking a slight step back as if its owner was trying to hide it. "Hiccup…" She mumbled, seeing his fear.

"You-you wanna know what happened. Of course you would, that's not a surprise." He said nervously, running a hand through his hair. Toothless chirped loudly behind them as if sensing the unease and walked over to his rider, nudging the boy's arm slightly. Hiccup whispered at him to stay put as he returned his attention back to his mother. She was still staring at him, waiting for an explanation.

"This dragon…this poor creature…has a prosthetic fin," She said, nodding towards Toothless, "And you, my son…you have a prosthetic leg."

He let out a nervous laugh, putting his hands on his hips.

"Hey, uh, at least we match, right?" He said as a weak attempt at humour.

Valka wasn't laughing.

After a moment of Hiccup timidly playing with his hands, his mother sighed and began walking forward, leaving him facing a group of young dragons practicing their flying. His eyes grew big and he spun around.

"Wait, whoa, you're just gonna let it go?" He asked, his voice wavering slightly.

"You can tell me when the time is right, Hiccup." She said, turning around to face him. They were probably six or seven feet apart. She couldn't help it though; her eyes kept going back to the metal piece on her son's body that shouldn't have been there. The metal piece that was in place of bones and flesh. She glanced at Toothless. His fin was mostly skin and veins, and she narrowed her eyes at the dragon who seemingly understood all the pain both he and his rider went through in order to fly again. She looked back at her son, who was looking back at her with a frightened face.

"It was an accident," He said, referring to Toothless' prosthetic, "They both were."

Ignoring his proclamation, his mother watched as her son took a step back. She must have been making him uncomfortable. However, she needed to know one thing to rest her mind. Sure, he'd tell her later at a better time, but there was still one thing bugging her.

"When?" She inquired.

Hiccup took the question off-guard. He quickly thought of his current age, and thought of the age he was when he had met Toothless. He came up with a five year gap.

"Five years ago," He muttered, staring at the ground.

"Son, you're twenty now, is that right?"

A nod.

"So..." He said awkwardly. He was about to ask if she wanted to continue showing him around, but suddenly she was running to him, and throwing her arms around him, and rubbing his back, and telling him over and over how it was alright, and how she wasn't mad, but how she was proud, and how she loved him, and all of a sudden it was too much for the young man to handle. He shakily brought his arms up and placed them around his mother's back, and for a moment, they just stood there, his mother comforting him and him not saying a word.

Toothless galloped to them, nudging their arms apart and sticking his head in between them excitedly, seemingly wanting some affection, as well.

With teary eyes, Valka laughed weakly and placed a hand on the dragon's head, patting him as he stuck his tongue out in content.

Hiccup's eyes softened and he couldn't help but smile at the sight. It felt so natural to have her by his side. It felt comforting. It felt _good_. It felt _real._

Yeah, he concluded, he'd tell her at a more appropriate time—but for now…

"Why don't you show me that icy frost dragon you were talking about?" He said warmly. She looked at him then, staring into his green eyes a moment, before nodding.

"Right. Let's go," She said, leading the way.


End file.
